Breech-block



(No Model.)

F. M.GARLA.ND. BREBGH BLOCK.

Patented Sept. 26, 1893.

FRANK M. GARLAND, OE NEW HAVEN, CONNECTICUT.

BREECH-BLOCK.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 505,568, dated September 26, 1893.

Application filed November 30, 1892- Serial No. 453,613. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, FRANK MILTON GAR- LAND, a citizen of the United States, residing at New Haven, in the county of New Haven and State of Connecticut, have invented certaln new and useful Improvements in Breech- Blocks, of which the following is a full, clear,

and exact specification.

Ihe invention relates to the class of blocks which are movable toward and from the rear of a gun barrel, to close or open the breech; the ob ect being to provide a simple and cheap block of this class which will readily receive and hold a cartridge firmly by the head without danger of exploding it, in the exact position to enable the block when moved to carry the cartridge correctly into the barrel without danger of jamming or clogging, the block holdlng the cartridge in the barrel while it is bemg exploded, and withdrawing the shell after it is fired.

To this end the invention resides in a breech bloclx having a body bearing fingers for recelving and grasping the head of a cartridge, friction studs for holding the same firmly in the fingers, and a firing pin to explode the cartridge, as more particularly hereinafter described and pointed out in the claims.

In the accompanying drawings the invention is illustrated as applied to a longitudinally reciprocating breech block designed for a machine gun similar to that shown and described in my application for United States Letters Patent, Serial No. 408,321.

In said drawings Figure 1 is a plan, Fig. 2 a side view, and Fig. 3 a vertical longitudinal section, of the block, Fig. 4 being an enlarged horizontal section of one end of the block, and Fig. 5 a front end view of the Same.

The body 1 of the block shown, is provided with an eye 2 for attachment to an operating lever, and beveled guiding fins 3, which slide in ways in the piece in which the block is used, as described in the above mentioned application.

The front end of the block is mortised or provided with bent fingers 4: to receive the head of a cartridge which may be slipped into it by any common means as in the gun re- 5 ferred to. It is preferred that these fingers be formed integral with the body of the block, but of course they may be formed of separate pieces and secured thereto either rigidly or elastically. In a cylindrical chamber 5 bored in the body from the front end, is placed a bolster 6 preferably with one end formed to fit the chamber, while the opposite end fits a recess in a plug 7 screwed into the front end of the chamber. This bolster loosely supports a-firing pin 8 having an end projecting to the rear in the path of the hammer to receive a blow when the hammer is tripped, and an end projecting through the plug 7 in position to strike the primer of the cartridge. Placed in an enlargement 9 in the opening through the bolster is a spring 10 which thrusting between the rear of the plug and a collar on the firing pin, holds the latter at the backward limit of its movement to prevent it from engaging the cartridge primer except when forced forward by a blow from the hammer. The plug 7 is perforated centrally for the firing pin, and upon each side for studs 11,whicl1 projecting toward the fingers are adapted to press against the rear of the cartridge head and hold it firmly with the rim against the fingers, so that the cartridge cannot drop out of place when the block is moved. The studs 11 are held forward by springs 12 located in enlarged portions of the stud chambers, each spring thrusting between shoulders on the studs and small screws which are secured in the threaded rear ends of the chambers.

In assembling the structure the firing pin with its spring is put into the bolster which is placed in the chamber in the body of the block. The friction studs with their springs are secured in the perforations in the plug and the plug screwed into place in the end of the block.

When a cartridge is slipped in the mortise back of the fingers which catch the front of the rim of the head the studs thrust against the body of the rear of the head so that the cartridge is firmly held, and when the block moves forward the cartridge is carried correctly and exactly into the gun.

Of course, the body of the block may be supported and moved by other means than those described in the application referred to,

without departing from the construction of so much as comprises the invention described and claimed in this application.

I claim as my invention 1. A movable breech block, consisting of a body with a mortise in the front end to receive the rim of a cartridge, an elastic frictional holding device held by the block adjacent to the mortise, and a firing pin adapted to project into the mortise, substantially as specified.

2. A movable breech block, consisting of a body with arms at the front end to receive the rim of a cartridge, a frictional holding device and a firing pin supported by the body and projecting therefrom adjacent to the arms, substantially as specified.

3. A movable breech block, consisting of a body with arms at the front end to receive the rim of a cartridge, a bolster supported in the body, a firing pin supported by the bolster, and a frictional holding device projecting from the body adjacent to the firing pm, substantially as specified.

4. A movable breech block, consisting of a body with arms at the front end to receive the rim of a cartridge, a plug screwed into the forward end of the block and bearing pro ecting elastic frictional holding devices and a firing pin, substantially as specified.

5. A movable breech block, consisting of a body with arms at the front end to receive the rim of a cartridge, a bolster supported by the body, a firing pin supported by the bolster, and a plug screwed into the forward end of the body and bearing projecting elastic frictional holding devices, substantially as specified.

FRANK M. GARLAND.

WVitnesses:

H. R. WILLIAMS, 0. E. BUOKLAND. 

